7.8.16

Jonathan to meet militants as Avengers deny break up

The Niger Delta
Avengers, yesterday, said the group remained a unit without a splinter
group, adding that those claiming to be breakaway members of the NDA are
impostors. There were also indications, yesterday, that former
President Jonathan is meeting with key members of the Avengers and other
known militant groups, with a view to dousing the tension in the
region, as well as avert deployment of soldiers and military hardware to
the region.
The Bayelsa State-based Niger Delta Peace Agenda (NDPA) confirmed
that the former president was meeting ‘quietly’ with some militant
leaders and has sent out emissaries to stakeholders in the region, with a
view to convening an all-encompassing dialogue/peace session. The
group, however, said any “deceptive peace process would be rejected by
the people.”
In a statement by the NDPA, yesterday, and signed by Timie Boroh, the
group cautioned all Niger Delta militants to listen to the former
president and Ijaw leaders to give peace a chance in the region.

In a terse message, yesterday, the Avengers denied claim by the Reformed
Niger Delta Avengers (RNDA) that it broke away from its fold. It said:
“The NDA is too busy at the moment to be distracted by people like Jude
Kekyll. He is not part of us and cannot be part of us. All our
operatives are united and we are all together.”
Alleged cracks in the Avengers’ ‘house’ was revealed by the splinter
RNDA, when it issued a statement on Friday night, claiming to be a
breakaway faction of the NDA, while threatening to expose those
sponsoring the Avengers.
The splinter group, which has been accused of being sponsored
government functionaries to undo the principal body, said it broke away
in protest against the continued attacks on pipelines and critical oil
infrastructure.
The RNDA, in a statement by its spokesperson, Cynthia Whyte, said in
part: “We will also cooperate with the government by exposing the
identities of our comrades, who remain stubborn in their insistence to
continue attacks. For example, it will shock the nation to know the
Jekyll and Hyde personality behind the pseudonym ‘Brigadier General
Murdoch Agbinibo’ and our sponsors.
“We also use this opportunity to call on the Indigenous People of
Biafra, IPOB, to take advantage of the olive branch concession secured
by MEND and renounce the Biafra question which is an anachronism. Those
advising Mr. Nnamdi Kanu to do otherwise neither love him nor
appreciate the level of treason this simple act of common sense and
humility can extricate him from.”The Guardian